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Searching for Literature

This guides covers the steps involved when searching for literature along with instructions and tips for conducting effective searches and managing your information.

Organising your resources

There are several ways that you can manage resources to save yourself time.

Search alerts

  • Once you have developed a search strategy that you're happy with, you can set up search alerts in catalogues, databases, Google and Google Scholar so that you are notified when new resources that match your search criteria are added.
  • Look for the option to 'create search alert' or 'set search alert': 
  • Refer to the Search alerts: keeping up to date guide for more information on setting up search alerts.

Saving searches

  • To keep track of the search strategies that you have used, you can save searches in catalogues, databases, Google and Google Scholar so that if you ever need to replicate them the details are readily available.
  • Look for the option to 'save search': 

Saving lists

  • Some databases provide the option to save lists of relevant resources so that you can quickly and easily refer back to them at a future date. You usually need to create a personal account to unlock this feature.
  • Look for the option to 'add to marked list' or 'save to list': 

Use a reference manager

  • Using a reference manager to collate, store and utilise the resources you find can save you time. You can send the details of relevant resources to the reference manager automatically so that you can perform further analysis, and then export them into a word document.
  • Look for 'Export' or 'Save' to identify options for sending items to a reference manager:

 

At CSIRO we support both EndNote and Mendeley reference managers. The Managing Your References guide contains a comparison table to assist in the selection of an appropriate reference manager.

Keeping track of your research

Keep track of your research so that it is easy to replicate in the future, and you have all of the details to justify your search process.

Consider recording the following:

  • Where you have searched i.e. databases, catalogues, Google, Google Scholar.
  • Your search strategies including your keywords and synonyms and the number of results you've retrieved. Many databases such as Web of Science allow you to capture a URL linking back to your search results: 
  • How successful the searches were, including keywords or search strings that you would not use again.